Not everything lasts forever. King Camp Gillette He devoted much of his life to reinforcing his idea and giving way to the razor. Despite the competition, the American, like the creator of the Scottish Kola, who came to dethrone Inca Kola in Arequipa, invented innovative disposable steel blades and, above all, at a low cost. Currently his surname is a registered trademark and thanks to his products he has been able to reach more than 200 countries, but a crisis left him with nothing.
At the age of 30, Gillette traveled to different countries to offer glass bottle caps. However, his goal was to be the creator of a product that would allow him to become a millionaire. Until he got advice from the businessman he worked for, with whom he came to fulfill his dream. After shooting his creation, the entrepreneur experienced the worst moment of his life, what happened?
Who Was King Camp Gillette?
He was born in January 1855 in the town of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. Soon after, his family moved to Chicago, Illinois. The youngest of five children, King was already 17 years old when a fire broke out and his father decided to move to New York, but he decided to stay to work at a wholesale company.
His desire to start his own industry continued and he spent almost two decades as a street vendor. He was a member of the Baltimore Seal Company, where he worked and offered products in various cities across the United States. He also maintained a friendship with the company’s President, William Painter, who held more than 80 patents, one of which was the disposable cap for bottles.
The advice that made him start his business
At the end of the day, Gillette had a chat with his boss that gave him some thoughtful advice. “Make something that will be used and thrown away, and customers will keep coming back for more,” Painter told him.
One morning in 1895 King went into one of the train lavatories to prepare for work and found that the idea had always been presumptuous as he needed a practical, economical, safe and disposable razor. Back then, people shaved with a traditional razor that had to be sharpened because very few had the opportunity to go to the hairdresser every day.
He enthusiastically presented his project to his friends, but nobody encouraged him because they believed that it was impossible to produce a thin, strong and cheap sheet of steel. In 1901, King met William Nickerson, who was working on the project and designing the machines that would be mass produced.
King Camp Gillette started his own company
The entrepreneur raised $5,000 to start the American Safety Razor company, which was renamed Gillette Safety Razor. In addition, they managed to obtain patents and their invention went on sale. In the first year they sold 51 machines and 168 razor blades. Gillette, with help from Nickerson, perfected the razor and accessories with which they were successfully sold in 1903.
King Camp Gillette needed to reduce the cost of razors and accessories. Photo: YouTube/Yupak recording
A year later, the factory sold nearly 250,000 razors; However, the businessman was forced to lower the price of his products to reach more users. By 1910, Gillette had grown into a multinational corporation, operating not only in the United States but also in Canada, Britain, France, and Germany.
Additionally, Gillette’s company provided the US military with 3.5 million machines and 36 million razor blades during World War I, a historic event for the organization.
The King Camp Gillette descent
King Camp did not agree to the sale of his patent rights to Europe due to some disagreements with John Joyce, one of the directors of the Gillette company. Over the years, Joyce acquired the entire company, but under the same name. King left the industry he founded and went to England.
After visiting various cities, King Camp Gillette built his home in Santa Monica, Southern California, in 1926, which was acquired by the Claretian Church, then by Soka University of America, and later by some agencies that made the ranch available for public use, in addition to record the reality show “The Biggest Loser”.
The businessman, who penetrated many countries with his products, lost everything in the Great Depression, which in 1929 affected not only the United States but the whole world. King Camp Gillette died in July 1932 in Los Angeles, California.
King Camp Gillette sold his shares to one of his company’s directors. Photo: Historical Science